Concluding a Loudoun County judge issued a valid order to take an attorney into custody for contempt of court while representing a client, the Virginia Court of Appeals rejected the lawyer’s claims that other court staff breached their duty by following through with the order.
In an Aug. 13 opinion, the appellate court affirmed the validity of Loudoun County Circuit Judge James P. Fisher’s oral order from the bench instructing a deputy to take attorney Rachel Virk into custody after she repeatedly challenged the court’s ruling in a pending divorce matter. The appellate court agreed to dismiss Virk’s civil lawsuit, which lodged various claims of false imprisonment against the arresting officer, deputy Ken Hollaway, and negligence claims against Susan Barbini, deputy clerk, of court for a handwritten commitment order, among others.